Denji, Chainsaw Man
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hit manga Chainsaw Man first debuted in 2018, but didn’t make the leap to anime until this year. As brilliant as Fujimoto’s art has been, there’s something about Kikunosuke Toya’s voice acting as Denji, the utterly impoverished teen who makes a deal with a devil to become a man literally made of chainsaws, that perfectly captures the character. Denji is both a furious cry against the cold inhumanity of modern society and a celebration of life’s simplest pleasures, and one of 2022’s (and 2018’s) most compelling characters. – Rob Bricken
